Patrick Swayze Was To Cameo In Zombieland

See the other actors on the wish listWhen writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick set out to find an actor to cameo in their horror-comedy Zombieland (set report/interviews), their initial choice was Patrick Swayze who passed away earlier this week.

“That was many years ago, before he got sick,” explains Reese. The script got its start as a television pilot before it was groomed for the big screen and found its stars Jesse Eisenberg (as Columbus) and Woody Harrelson (as Tallahassee). “It was [going to be] a Patrick Swayze zombie. They got attacked by him zombified and we had these wonderful moments where they found a potter’s wheel and there’s Columbus on the wheel and these other hands come up behind him and it’s Patrick Swayze the zombie. Ultimately, they fight and Patrick bull rushes Tallahassee who grabs him and lifts him into the air, a la Jennifer Grey, and smashes him into a pillar.”

When Swayze unfortunately had to bow out, Reese and Wernick set their sights on a number of other actors including Sylvester Stallone, Joe Pesci, Mark Hammill, The Rock, Kevin Bacon, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Matthew McConaughey. But none of them worked out.

Wait until you see who they ultimately nabbed for the film when Zombieland munches on theaters October 2.